Sunday, August 15, 2010

What can one say about the first preseason game, played in the rain no less?

It was an ugly affair to watch, for both reasons.

Sure, we saw the return of Ronnie Brown, which gives some reason for optimism. But, the offensive line was just that - not opening up much and getting called for three penalties early on. Henne looked out of synch, which may be attributable to the rain. And Brandon Marshall was a non factor with two drops.

On defense, we saw Josh Freeman running over and around the starting defenders. He completed a couple of big passes over our "vaunted" secondary. Koa Misi showed that he belonged. And Jared Odrick showed flashes. And I guess that's about all you can hope for at this point.

As a fan, it was pretty much unwatchable. We missed a fair amount of the first quarter standing in the tunnel as it poured, and then were "treated to" a night of watching guys who will soon be playing in the arena league.

If there was one bright side, it was that the Bucs decided to go for it on a 4th and goal with about 6 1/2 minutes left. A field goal would have probably meant overtime; at least the game could end in regulation.

And speaking of that, several people around me were wholly unaware that a preseason game could go to overtime - they assumed it would end in a tie. It will go to OT, and I have to agree that makes NO SENSE. Knowing that, most coaches will play for a win, which I appreciate. Now why don't more of them do it in the regular season?

Anyway, to quote the Herald, it was not worth the wait. This was a game that fell completely flat...

3
comments

Hey Dave. How about dwelling on some positive aspects of last night's game? Maybe the stellar play of Paul Soliai deserves a mention. You mention the goal line stand but not the athletic play of Nate Ness, which made it possible. John Jerry plays in his first game and does fairly well at it too, not a peep. None of those players will be in the arena league this year. Patrick Turner had a couple of nice catches and Tyler Thigpen took care of the ball pretty well and made some nice plays with his feet. He didn't throw a single interception either. You mention the secondary and the offensive line and slam them both wholesale with a throw away comment and offer nothing more. You really mailed this one in pal. No analysis and little positive to say makes for a poor read. So long as we are grading people out,"we saw the return of Ronnie Brown, which gives some reason for optimism. Koa Misi showed that he belonged. And Jared Odrick showed flashes." Take the players names out of what is between the quotation marks and you have 18 words of anything remotely good to say about the team. Even those eighteen words feel as though they are given begrudingly when seen in context. I realize wannabe know-it-all types who fancy themselves football pundits are a dime a dozen, as are their opinions. But really if you are going to put something in print, make some kind of credible effort. Did you take your game notes in crayon in the rain? The game was a whole lot more watchable than you are readable.

Michah Johnson, Roberto Wallace, Nolan Caroll, Austin Spitzler, and Charles Grant. I hope they all are on the 53 man roster. They all played decent. Grant was double teamed a bit more, but none the less, they all played well.

I'd like to thank Bee for taking the time to read my (lame) analysis - and write a comment. I've been doing this for 16 years now, and if there's one thing I've learned its that the first preseason game is essentially meaningless. Sure, I could talk about Soliai, Misi, Ness, and others. But, let's see what they look like next week.

There have been many players who looked great in the first preseason game, only to fall woefully behind over the next 3 weeks.

So, if you want to say I "mailed it in" so be it. Look at just about any writer and you'll see much of the same. The obvious exception are the writers who get paid to do it; they have to say something more.

And as for crayons in the rain, give me some credit! I was writing with a marker on my arm. LOL

....and that said, I am really afraid of the fact that our starters got run over on defense, and were unable to generate much offense on the whole. Here's to hoping that changes.